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Joshmaul the Warlock
Joshmaul the Warlock, Initiate of the Sixth Circle of the Shadow Council (born as Urgan approximately 557 in the Bleeding Hollow Village, Terokkar Forest, Draenor) is a character created by Joshua Underwood in World of Warcraft. At present, Joshmaul is a level 62 orc warlock on the Medivh (US) player-versus-environment, or PvE ("normal") realm. He is currently a member of the Royal Undercity Mounties, a guild founded as the Horde's response to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Origins The orc shaman Urgan, formerly a member of the Bleeding Hollow Clan, was born in the Bleeding Hollow's village in the outskirts of Terokkar Forest on Draenor. An idealistic but feared warrior of the Horde, Urgan fought during the First, Second and Third Wars, and - while apparently accepting his race's descent into evil (though he secretly opposed it) - retained his shamanistic heritage. He believed, as the spirits did, that one would arise to remind the orcs of their heritage, a shaman who had been lost but would be found again. When Thrall, son of Durotan, took over the Horde after the death of Orgrim Doomhammer and was instructed by a mysterious prophet (Medivh, the Last Guardian of Tirisfal) to take the Horde west to the forgotten lands of Kalimdor, Urgan was ecstatic; he and the spirits had been correct in their belief that evil would be expelled from the Horde. He joined Thrall in the exodus to Kalimdor, and once Durotar - and its capital city of Orgrimmar - had been created, Urgan lived in the Valley of Trials to the south of the capital and helped train new shamans. The vengeful spirit of a powerful human named Kiran Joshmaul (who had been killed in another reality), had crossed the dimensional plane and entered the world of Azeroth. Seeking a strong body to host his powerful soul, Joshmaul possessed the body of the shaman, forcing the old orc's soul out of its own body. Joshmaul changed the body to his liking, lengthening and braiding the white hair and growing out a shaggy white beard. After he was satisified with his new body, Joshmaul drank deep of the details of the world he had entered. He found that there were humans here, and that the world of Azeroth was a very medieval myth-like society with knights, wizards and monsters. He found that the race of the shaman he had possessed, the orcs, had a primitive yet honor-bound society, oriented around combat and the betterment of the soul. But Joshmaul was not interested in being a "nature lover" - he craved power. He found it in the form of demonic warlock magic, which he found - to his surprise - that he had a natural affinity for. In secret, while he feigned allegiance to the Horde, Joshmaul saw that the Shadow Council offered more opportunities for him, and he began to rise steadily in its ranks. After Joshmaul took possession of Urgan, an orc named Noggra - a shaman - rose up and swore a blood oath to destroy him. This was the new mortal recepticle of the soul of the old shaman... Fighting for the Horde Note: This is from the perspective of Underwood playing Joshmaul; the situations described herein are in no way unique to the character. Joshmaul began his service to the Horde by battling renegade warlocks of the Burning Blade, as a major test of his new powers. He found he could manipulate the shadow magic without much effort, and trained almost exclusively in the school of Demonology. After defeating the Burning Blade and learning to summon his first demon, the imp, Joshmaul left the Valley of Trials and ventured to the orc outpost of Razor Hill, where he was called on to kill the humans inhabiting the ruins of Tiragarde Keep, the outpost of the late Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore. Finding that Proudmoore had left orders to a Lieutenant Benedict in the ruined keep, Joshmaul delivered the information to Nazgrel, Thrall's chief general, at Grommash Hold in the capital of Orgrimmar. Afterwards, he travelled the troll village of Sen'jin, on Durotar's southern coast. The trolls had been forced to leave the nearby Echo Isles by a crazed witch doctor named Zalazane. In order to gain the respect of the trolls, Joshmaul ventured to the largest Echo Isle and, after a feverish battle, killed the crazed witch doctor and his slaves. After he had done his work in Durotar and gained his second demon, Joshmaul travelled west from Razor Hill into the Barrens, to the village known as the Crossroads, where his battles continued. His most noted conflict at this stage was facing the dwarves in their fortress of Bael Modan, in the southern Barrens, who were deemed by the Horde to be a genuine threat. It was around this time that Joshmaul joined the Royal Undercity Mounted Police, or just "Royal Undercity Mounties". He trained extensively with them for many months, his most notable confrontation at this time being the attack on Shadowfang Keep, in the blighted forest of Silverpine. Battling Powerful Foes Joshmaul, accompanied by a party led by the undead warrior Xanatoros, entered the ruined keep to find out what had happened to Deathstalkers Adamant and Vincent. Vincent, he discovered, was found dead on the other side of the fence separating the entrance from the courtyard, while Adamant had been imprisoned in Shadowfang's cell block. After freeing Adamant and making his way into the courtyard, Joshmaul and his party entered the dining hall where they confronted the ghost of the keep's former noble, Baron Silverlaine, and defeated him. Fighting through worgen-infested halls, Joshmaul finally managed to reach the inner sanctum of the Archmage Arugal, the ruler of Shadowfang, and confronted him. Joshmaul inflicted a powerful curse on Arugal that forced the weak Archmage to speak in the tongue of demons, thus making his connection to magic even slimmer before finally killing him, and taking his head to Dalar Dawnweaver at the Sepulcher. After defeating Arugal, Joshmaul and the Mounties ventured through Blackfathom Deeps in Ashenvale and slew the beasts within. Joshmaul left the Mounties for a time and joined the Order of Vestige, where he fought for some time - gaining more power along the way. He was accompanied by members of the order into the Scarlet Monastery in Tirisfal Glades, where he had been called upon to kill the leadership of the Scarlet Crusade there. In a confrontation with High Inquisitor Whitemane, Joshmaul removed the peaked cap from her head and took as his own, wearing it as a sort of crown - then he killed her. Then he returned to the Barrens to confront the Scourge agents that had inhabited the quillboar fortress of Razorfen Downs, eventually entering into combat with the lich Amnennar the Coldbringer. Aided by the druid Ripa, Joshmaul destroyed Amnennar and took his dagger and robes for himself. Eventually, Joshmaul left Vestige and rejoined the Royal Undercity Mounties. In another run through the armory of the Scarlet Monastery, aided by the undead rogue Grailen, Joshmaul finally gained enough power to summon a Felsteed - a dark horse with burning eyes and hooves, snorting flames from its nostrils - to serve as his mount. He has also entered into an alliance with the undead priest Sekhesmet of Stratholme, who provides the warlock with potions he requires in exchange for gold and powerful items. Finding Taretha's Necklace Some years before the present, Warchief Thrall - then a slave to Lieutenant General Aedelas Blackmoore, Lord of Durnhold - had a rare friendship with a human named Taretha Foxton, the daughter of Blackmoore's servant Tammis and forced mistress of her alcoholic master. Taretha's last meeting with Thrall was shortly before his attack on Durnholde, in the Hillsbrad Foothills, where he informed her of his plans. But Blackmoore managed to find out of Taretha's association with Thrall, and subsequently got himself drunk enough to order her execution. When Thrall arrived intending to offer the humans their lives in exchange for freeing the orcs, the drunkard General threw Taretha's severed head into the courtyard - sparking Thrall's rage, and sealing the fate of both Blackmoore and Durnholde Keep. Taretha had given Thrall a simple pendant, a crescent moon on a silver chain, but it had been believed lost after Durnholde fell. Joshmaul was asked by Horde agents in Tarren Mill to discover where a kidnapped orc named Gol'dir was being held, and it was Gol'dir who informed him of the Warchief's search for Taretha's necklace. Eventually, the warlock learned that Elysa, the mistress of Lord Aliden Perenolde - the last survivor of the former royal house of Alterac, and leader of the Syndicate - was in possession of the necklace, and was living in a house along Lordamere Lake in Alterac. With his voidwalker, Phandok, dealing with the Syndicate minions in the house, Joshmaul met Perenolde in face-to-face combat, shadow magic against the coward's self-shielding and healing. With a volley of shadowbolts, the warlock killed the Syndicate leader. After clearing out the rest of the house, Joshmaul gained the pendant from Elysa, whom (uncharacteristically) he spared. Moving Forward Joshmaul entered the halls of Uldaman in the Badlands with the tauren shaman Mukri, the commander of the Royal Undercity Mounted Police, and several other Mounties. Leaving with an Archaedic Stone from the elemental guardian Archaedas, and a miniature copy of the Platinum Discs of Norgannon he guarded, Joshmaul left with a greater sense of just how exactly the Titans had worked in Azeroth. After leaving Uldaman, the warlock spent many months in the deserts of Tanaris, doing battle with the sand trolls of Zul'Farrak, collecting samples of the native wildlife for the Royal Apothecary Society, and attempting to ascertain the secrets of Uldum - Earthen ruins left behind by the Titans. He realized it responded to the miniatures of the Discs of Norgannon, but would not grant him access without the "Discs of Uldum", a missing portion of the Discs of Norgannon. Letting it be for now, Joshmaul ventured west, to the overgrown crater of Un'Goro, where he did battle with tar beasts, reptilian monsters, and spirits of the elements run amok. Soon Joshmaul reached the fifth circle of the Shadow Council, and became privy to greater powers and even greater secrets. Dispatched to Felwood to a gnome warlock named Niby the Almighty - or to be more specific, his imp minion, Impsy - Joshmaul received a rather odd request...to help the imp create a pet of his own. Joshmaul had been asked, after speaking to his master Zevrost in Orgrimmar, to take a piece of felcloth (which the undead mage Maruz provided for him) to the imp to create this pet. He then set out to collect parts from the corrupted Irontree treants and the tainted oozes that plagued Felwood for its "body". The final portion - the most difficult - involved gathering voodoo feathers from six undead troll spirits, as stuffing. This would require him to travel back to the East, to the sunken Temple of Atal'Hakkar in the Swamp of Sorrows... Venturing Into The Temple The Temple of Atal'Hakkar, or the Sunken Temple as it was also known, was a temple to the Blood God Hakkar the Soulflayer, erected by the Atal'ai trolls and their crazed leader, Jammal'an the Prophet. Believing that Jammal'an and the Atal'ai intended to use the Temple to summon Hakkar back into Azeroth, the great dragon Aspect Ysera and her Green Dragonflight plunged the Temple into the depths of the Swamp of Sorrows. But they did not realize their error until it was far too late... Though the ineptitude of the shaman and warrior leading him into the Sunken Temple caused many pitfalls, Joshmaul, accompanied by the tauren hunter Meks and an undead warlock, both from the Royal Undercity Mounted Police, managed to enter deep inside of it and defeat the troll-ghost guardians that defended the inner sanctum of Jammal'an the Prophet. The Mounties, Joshmaul would note later, did much of the work; the shaman was not fulfulling his healing duties, and the warrior was unable to maintain his attacks on the trolls within - or the crazed green dragons corrupted by the evil of the Atal'ai. Eventually, after much toil, Joshmaul's party reached the inner sanctum of the Prophet, where he, his brother warlock and Meks - at the forefront of the assault - defeated Jammal'an in a contest of both physical prowess and (in the case of the warlocks) arcane mastery. After taking the Prophet's head, the warrior and the shaman intended to proceed deeper into the Temple and confront the Shade of Eranikus, a green dragon corrupted by an evil that had entered the Emerald Dream - the realm of Ysera and her dragonflight. But the Mounties knew that, due to their suicidal ineptitude, battling the dragon shade was not possible, and they immediately used their hearthstones to escape from the Temple. But Joshmaul knew he would be back to the Temple some day, and when he did, he would be backed by the Mounties - and ONLY the Mounties. Infernal Control Upon entering the fifth circle of the Shadow Council, Joshmaul was given a quest by Niby's minion Impsy to gain three flawless fel essences around the world - in the hands of the Legashi satyrs of Azshara, the Jaedenar Legionnaires of Felwood, and the Felguard Sentries near the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands. They were required to create a fel fire that could reanimate the infernal called Kroshius in Shatter Scar Vale, north of Bloodvenom Falls in Felwood. Aided by a fellow warlock and a rogue, Joshmaul summoned Kroshius back into the world - and then destroyed him again and took his infernal core. Delivering it to Niby, Joshmaul was granted the ability to summon an infernal of his own, and was also given the Shard of the Green Flame, a portion of the infernal core that boosts his fire spells. Race for the Dark Portal! Joshmaul was in competition with the paladin Saavedro of Stratholme as to who will reach the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands first, when it is reopened. Word had reached both powerful men of the survival of the Archmage Khadgar, one of the Alliance commanders that had defeated the orcs at the Battle of the Hellfire Peninsula on the planet Draenor, the homeworld of the orcish race. For nearly twenty years, the Dark Portal had been sealed off by the destruction of Draenor caused by incredible magical forces as the result of the shaman Ner'zhul opening unstable portals into the Twisting Nether. What remains of Draenor is now known as Outland - floating in the Nether for all eternity. In the end, however, Saavedro defeated Joshmaul in the race to reach the Dark Portal, but the warlock was not deterred; he managed to reach Outland shortly after Saavedro did, and began to take advantage of his surroundings. Stealing a Dreadsteed After much toil in the Plaguelands, Silithus and the battlefields of Hellfire Peninsula, Joshmaul finally reached the level where he would be able to control and ride one of the famed Dreadsteeds of Xoroth. Sent from his masters in Orgrimmar to the human warlock Mor'zul Bloodbringer and his servant, the goblin Gorzeeki Wildeyes, Joshmaul embarked on a serious of dangerous but fruitful quests to obtain the ability to summon one of these beasts. First, he had to obtain the blood of crazed owlkin from Winterspring to write Xorothian glyphs onto parchment, then take an imp deep inside Scholomance, to the alchemy lab maintained by Ras Frostwhisper, to create the parchment there. The next part involved crafting four powerful items for the summoning circle - the Bell of Dethmoora, the Wheel of the Black March, the Doomsday Candle and the Black Lodestone. Upon completing these tasks, Joshmaul was joined by three other warlocks - two undead and a fellow orc - to take the components deep into the city of Eldre'Thalas...now known as Dire Maul. First hunting down the imp Pusillin in the eastern sections to gain the Crescent Key - the master key of Eldre'Thalas - the warlocks then proceeded to enter the western sections and began deactivating the pylons that imprisoned the two-headed demon Immol'thar, located where the summoning circle would be placed. Destroying Immol'thar proved to be simplicity itself; the next part, however, did not. After hours of slaughtering through Azeroth, the summoning was about to take place. The master warlock who held the components that Joshmaul had helped to assemble set them in their places, and began the ritual of summoning. While the components powered up, imps and felguards from Xoroth - protectors of the Dreadsteed stables - began pouring into the summoning ring and attacking the warlocks from every direction. Joshmaul and his felguard, Shaadhun, felled many imps and even several felguards as the nine symbols required to open the portal to Xoroth and summon the Dreadsteed began to form around the summonning circle. At last, the task was done, and the Dreadsteed was summoned into the world of Azeroth. Joshmaul and his brother warlocks attacked, but as the steed was weakening, the portal opened once more, revealing the Dreadlord Hel'nurath, the stable-keeper of Xoroth. But his intervention was too late - the Dreadsteed fell, and Joshmaul and his comrades divided the powerful spirit among themselves - allowing them all to summon Dreadsteeds. With this powerful demonic horse in his control, Joshmaul returned to Outland and began his reconquest of his homeworld... Currently Joshmaul currently resides at Thrallmar, the Horde outpost in Hellfire Peninsula in Outland. He makes periodic trips to Shattrath City, where the Archmage Khadgar has opened portals to every capital on Azeroth. He often travels to Orgrimmar via these portals. Notable Artifacts in His Possession *Rod of the Unyielding: A powerful staff imbued with the essence of the Unyielding - the ghosts of slain Alliance soldiers on the battlefields of Hellfire Peninsula. This grants bonuses to his ability to obtain a critical strike with spells as well as boost his intellect and stamina. *Vengeance of the Illidari: Joshmaul, aided by his allies, confronted the Eredar warlock Arazzius the Cruel, master of the Legion in Hellfire Peninsula, at his altar in the Pools of Aggonar. Upon defeating Arazzius, Joshmaul received this crystal from Nazgrel, the master of Thrallmar. This crystal boosts his spell critical rating, but also - when activated - temporarily increases the power of his spells. *Dreadmist Rainment: Though relatively weak compared to the gear available to him, Joshmaul wears three pieces of the Dreadmist Rainment: The gloves, the belt and the bracers. They grant him improved stamina and intellect. *Insignia of the Horde: Given to all Horde soldiers at the rank of Grunt. This grants the ability to dispel all polymorph, fear and charming effects. Demons in His Service Joshmaul currently has nine demons in his service: *Garyal: An Imp, the first that Joshmaul was able to manipulate. Garyal serves primarily as his messenger, but is able to launch fireballs at its master's targets. Garyal has become powerful enough to go out of phase, only returning to phase when it enters combat. *Phandok: A Voidwalker, and the chief fighter defending Joshmaul against all foes by taunting them into combat with it, keeping fighters from attacking its weaker-armored master. It also has the ability to heal itself outside of combat, and is often sacrificed to raise a protective shield around its master, but leaving the ability to resummon him open. *Vilyla: A Succubus - the "dominatrixes of demonkind", as humans have described them. Its deadly whip is quite painful, but the demon is primarily used to charm targets who are more suseptible to the wiles of seductive beings. It also has the ability to turn invisible. *Kreegrom: A Felhunter - the "hounds of the Nether". Often used when battling foes with magic. The Felhunter has the ability to remove beneficial spells from enemies, and harmful ones from its master and his allies. It can also spell-lock its foes, preventing them from casting spells, and will taint its blood in combat, so that when an enemy strikes it, the tainted blood will reduce the enemy's ability to do damage. *Shaadhun: A Felguard - the grunts of the Burning Legion army. This demon was granted to Joshmaul's control upon the expansion of the school of Demonology. Far stronger than the Voidwalker, but with surprisingly weak armor and stamina, Shaadhun joins Phandok as one of his two primary attack demons. *Kharleth: Joshmaul's felsteed, gained upon attaining the fortieth level of warlock training. (In Warhammer Fantasy, Kharleth means lord of war in the tongue of Chaos.) *The Infernal: A powerful servitor of the Burning Legion, a siege engine of stone and fire. Joshmaul underwent a great trial to attain the ability to summon this powerful demon - but even Joshmaul's power is limited, and he is only able to assert his power for five minutes. After that, he either has to destroy it or somehow re-enslave it. *The Doomguard: The elite footsoldiers of the Burning Legion. Attainable via the Curse of Doom, a powerful shadow spell that, if it kills the target, will summon the Doomguard. *Ghurshy'ish'phak: A Dreadsteed of Xoroth - the mount of the highest warlock, attainable only by a certain quest given by Joshmaul's warlock masters. The Dreadsteed is a much more fiery, armor-plated beast with great spikes protruding from its scaly flesh. Joshmaul had seen the Dreadsteed in his future and called it Ghurshy'ish'phak, or Beast of the Apocalypse in the tongue of Chaos. After defeating Lord Hel'nurath, the Stable-keeper of Xoroth, and the summoned dreadsteed itself, Joshmaul chained the beast to his will to serve as his mount. (Note: This name was taken from Warhammer Fantasy Battles; in that medium, Ghurshy'ish'phak - also known as Dorghar, Yrontalie, or simply the Steed of the Apocalypse - was the Chaos steed ridden by Lord Archaon the Everchosen, commander of all the Chaos legions.) Category:RPGCategory:Warcraft